Industry News

ATSC 3.0-delivered next-generation TV signals, promising better sound and picture and improved reception, has been launched in the professional home — at least for today — of NFL star Aaron Rodgers.

Now offering NEXTGEN TV signals are five broadcast TV stations serving Green Bay, Wisc.

With BitPath coordinating the launch, as of January 25, 2022, local viewers with a NEXTGEN TV-capable set can watch ATSC 3.0-delivered signals for Gray Television-owned ABC affiliate WBAY-TV, CBS affiliate WFRV-TV, FOX affiliate WLUK-TV, NBC affiliate WGBA-TV and The CW Network affiliate for the northern Wisconsin market, WCWF-TV.

WCWF, owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group as part of a duopoly with WLUK, is the lighthouse station for the market.

WFRV is owned by Nexstar; WGBA is a E.W. Scripps Co.-owned station.

If you were a National Football League fan, last weekend’s matches — all of them — offered some spectacular thrills. From superstar Tom Brady’s furious comeback attempt to the Cincinnati Bengals’ victory over the Tennessee Titans, there was much to keep viewers glued to the TV. Then, there’s the epic match that saw the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Buffalo Bills in an overtime match shown on CBS.

Just how many people were tuned to CBS, and to the Gray Television-owned affiliate in Kansas City showing the game, one of the greatest in NFL history?

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The FCC’s Media Bureau is reminding everyone that applications and submissions that can be submitted using its Licensing and Management System must be submitted that way.

This may seem obvious; however, as we’ve reported, the bureau recently announced that it will no longer accept any filings in its old Consolidated Database System (CDBS), and it set up procedures for the public to submit certain types of filings by email pending final transition of all filings to LMS.

This apparently caused some confusion, so now comes a reminder that the Media Bureau will not accept applications that are required to be filed using LMS but that are submitted using those new email filing procedures. The latter procedures just apply to those types that until recently would have been submitted via CDBS. (Here’s that earlier announcement, if you’re not sure which types are involved.)

“As of Jan. 12, 2022, all Media Bureau filings that cannot be submitted using LMS must be submitted by email to audiofilings@fcc.gov.”

It also reminded filers that emailed submissions must include the required Anti-Drug Abuse Act Certification. It also addressed other required information and fees. For those details and guidance about sending questions to the FCC, see the bureau’s latest announcement.

The post FCC Issues Reminder on Filing Process appeared first on Radio World.

DAYTON, OHIO — Cox Media Group has moved forward with the naming of Rob Rohr’s successor as VP/GM of its “CMG Ohio” unit, comprised of the radio and television properties serving the Gem City and its surrounding communities.

Taking the role is 26-year company veteran Darren Moore.

Effective today, he’ll oversee all CMG Ohio operations including news, programming, sales, digital, engineering, production and community affairs for dominant CBS affiliate WHIO-7, and for three radio brands: Classic Hits “95.3 and 101.1 The Eagle,” News/Talk WHIO-AM & FM, and market-leading WHKO-FM, branded as “K99.1 New Country.”

Moore has spent many years in Pittsburgh, where he began his career at CMG as a WPXI-11 intern in 1996. After that experience, he took an Account Executive role at WAXN-64 in Charlotte, which had just gone on the air. He later returned to the ‘Burgh, serving as NSM of WPXI and two other stations, WJAC-6 in Johnstown, Pa., and WTOV-9 in Wheeling, W. Va. Today, WJAC and WTOV are owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Moore would then rise to LSM and, ultimately, Director of Sales at WPXI.

“Darren’s passion for people, the broadcasting industry and CMG is infectious and inspiring,’ said Paul Curran, EVP of Television at CMG. “His strong track record of forging internal and external relationships will make a positive impact on our Dayton operations and in the Dayton community. I look forward to watching him excel in this new role as our approach to broadcasting in Dayton continues to evolve.”

Moore added, “I am honored to join the outstanding broadcasters at CMG Ohio, home to some of the most iconic TV and radio brands in the entire industry. I can’t wait to start working with the Dayton team, further enhancing our award-winning brands, serving our customers and viewers, and partnering with the local Miami Valley community.”

In May 2018, the Media Bureau Policy Division’s Senior Deputy Chief denied a petition filed by Gray Television concerning a CBS-affiliated UHF station and its absence on both DISH Network or DirecTV in several towns within a half-hour drive of the property’s city of license.

Steven Broeckaert, the division leader, made the decision on the grounds that the resulting carriage obligation “is not technically and economically feasible for each of the satellite carriers, and would effectively circumvent Section 338(c)(1).”

One month later, Gray filed an Application for Review of the Memorandum Opinion and Order. Now, nearly four years after the FCC’s inaction on the matter, Gray has asked that the petition be dismissed.

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Cox Media Group has appointed Darren Moore as VP/GM of CMG Ohio effective immediately. He will oversee CMG Ohio operations, including news, programming, sales, digital, engineering, production and community affairs for WHIO-TV, 95.3 and 101.1 The Eagle (WZLR), 1290 and 95.7 WHIO, and K99.1 New Country (WHKO-FM), in Dayton, Ohio.

Moore joined CMG 26 year ago as an intern for WPXI(TV) in Pittsburgh, launching a career built on his early childhood memories of visiting the station with his father, a former CMG employee. After finishing his internship, he relocated to Charlotte to work as an account executive for the newly launched WAXN-TV, before returning to Pittsburgh where he eventually became director of sales at WPXI.

“Darren’s passion for people, the broadcasting industry and CMG is infectious and inspiring,” said Paul Curran, EVP of Television at CMG.

The post CMG Taps Moore for Ohio appeared first on Radio World.

At-home production and REMI — an acronym that non-tech leaders may not know — have grown in importance over the last several years. It was only accelerated by the pandemic. Thus, having Jim Jachetta, EVP/Chief Technology Officer of VidOvation, as Adam R Jacobson’s guest on the latest InFOCUS Podcast couldn’t be timelier.

Jachetta shares some of the “5 Essential Elements of At-Home Live Remote Production Workflows and discusses how local news organizations can best take advantage of this.

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Jim Jachetta, VidOvation” on Spreaker.

Calling all vinyl aficionados: Apr. 23, 2022, will be the day to celebrate the unique, much-loved and resurging medium known as vinyl. Vinylthon 2022 will feature a full day of vinyl-only broadcasts from stations across the U.S. and around the world.

The nonprofit College Radio Foundation, which is organizing the event, described Vinylthon as the radio industry’s response to the “remarkable vinyl renaissance” that continues around the world. The event is open to all stations both commercial and noncommercial and will raise scholarship funds for students interested in a career in the radio industry.

“This event is a hugely fun day for both listeners and broadcasters alike,” said Vinylthon Founder Rob Quicke, a faculty advisor at WPSC(FM) at William Paterson University in Wayne, N.J. “People are still very passionate about the magic and warmth of vinyl.”

Over the past 15 years, sales of vinyl have seen steady growth, reaching a “post-Napster high” of $467 million in the first half of 2021, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, despite supply chain shortfalls affecting production. In 2020, vinyl sales overtook CD sales for the first time since the 1980s.

2022 marks the seventh Vinylthon event, with more than 150 radio stations participating in 2021. The event has been supported in the past by music artists such as Andrew Farriss from INXS, Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, Ritchie Kotzen from Mr. Big and Poison, and Mike Peters from The Alarm.

The event is free for noncommercial radio stations to register; there is a small fee for commercial stations to participate, said Quicke. “Commercial radio stations that participate are paying it forward to the next generation of professional broadcasters, who really need the financial support,” he said.

Stations that air more than 12 hours of vinyl-only recordings during the event will earn the Golden Slipmat Award — a pair of golden slipmats that can be used on turntables or displayed on a studio wall.

“Playing vinyl on the air is an amazing, hands-on experience for many of today’s radio broadcasters, and a trip down memory lane for the listeners,” Quicke said.

The organization has released additional information on the event, including information on registering and a list of participating stations. As of press time, nearly 100 U.S. stations and a dozen international stations had registered.

The post Vinylthon 2022 Honors Warmth, Vitality of Vinyl appeared first on Radio World.

As of today, the Local Radio Freedom Act has the support of 208 House representatives and 24 Senators. While that’s a sign that the resolution has strong support on Capitol Hill, there’s no guarantee that it will get passed by the House or Senate.

Here’s how you can led your support to the LRFA.

If your Congressional representatives are not on this list, we strongly encourage that you take a few minutes and ask them to join in supporting the act. And, if they have already signed on, it wouldn’t hurt to remember what your mother taught you: Say thank you.

Here is a form provided by the NAB that makes it easy to do both. It encourages those in Congress who have yet to add their name to the act to do so and it says thank you to those who have already done that. How easy can that be?

As a reminder, here is a list of the current congressional supporters of the Local Radio Freedom Act.

Click here and do your part for the Local Radio Freedom Act. Your e-mail could be the one that helps enact the Local Radio Freedom Act.

From our People News page: Futuri has created two new positions. Tracy Gilliam was named chief strategy officer, and Todd Storch becomes chief revenue officer.

Futuri offers audience engagement and sales intelligence services for broadcasters and digital publishers, using artificial intelligence and the cloud. Daniel Anstandig is its CEO.

“Gilliam will focus on M&A and strategic growth, as well as further developing Futuri’s client solutions and best-in-class Customer Experience team,” the company wrote.

Futuri in 2015 acquired TopLine Matters, a sales intelligence system Gilliam launched. She also is a former general sales manager for CBS Radio in Los Angeles and VP/market manager for Clear Channel, now iHeartMedia.

“Storch will be responsible for driving Futuri’s continued revenue growth through aligned sales and marketing go-to-market strategies and operational plans for profitable growth,” Futuri wrote.

He is former CEO of Kindrid and Five Star Global, and was SVP, Strategic Initiatives at Ministry Brands. He’s a former VP/senior consultant at The Center for Sales Strategy and co-founder of Taylor’s Gift Foundation.

Send your people news to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Futuri Names Gilliam, Storch to New Roles appeared first on Radio World.